SB85
Well-Known Member
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) — St Vincent and the Grenadines has become the first Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member to pass legislation allowing for the decriminalisation of marijuana for medicinal and scientific purposes.
Parliament approved two pieces of legislation that also allows for the production of the crop under a tightly controlled framework.
Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar, who piloted the measure, said that it would end many of the sufferings people had endured in the illegal marijuana trade.
“Mr Speaker, there are people who are suffering and who have suffered in our country, and this Bill is here to give them an opportunity to earn a livelihood and that is why we have carved out a special area for the traditional cultivator,” he said just before moving the Medical Marijuana Industry Bill to a vote.
Lawmakers also approved the Medical Marijuana Amnesty Bill amidst calls by the Opposition and some members of the Rastafarian for the Ralph Gonsalves Government to go the full length and legalise small portions of the plant for recreational use.
A third Bill, “Permitted Use of Cannabis for Religious Purposes Bill 2018”, was withdrawn after members of the Rastafarian community told the Government that a law could not give them permission to use marijuana, which they consider a sacrament.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/st-vincent-parliament-approves-legislation-decriminalising-marijuana_152072?profile=1373
Parliament approved two pieces of legislation that also allows for the production of the crop under a tightly controlled framework.
Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar, who piloted the measure, said that it would end many of the sufferings people had endured in the illegal marijuana trade.
“Mr Speaker, there are people who are suffering and who have suffered in our country, and this Bill is here to give them an opportunity to earn a livelihood and that is why we have carved out a special area for the traditional cultivator,” he said just before moving the Medical Marijuana Industry Bill to a vote.
Lawmakers also approved the Medical Marijuana Amnesty Bill amidst calls by the Opposition and some members of the Rastafarian for the Ralph Gonsalves Government to go the full length and legalise small portions of the plant for recreational use.
A third Bill, “Permitted Use of Cannabis for Religious Purposes Bill 2018”, was withdrawn after members of the Rastafarian community told the Government that a law could not give them permission to use marijuana, which they consider a sacrament.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/st-vincent-parliament-approves-legislation-decriminalising-marijuana_152072?profile=1373